Agri SA Disaster Relief Foundation
[{“type”:”text”,”content”:”Agri SAu2019s Drought Relief Fund was founded in 2015 and has since assisted farmers and farmworkers in drought-stricken areas with financial and humanitarian aid. nnThe need arose due to the government not having the resources or means to alleviate the plight of those affected by drought in the agricultural sector. Since 2015, over R30 million has been distributed to farmers and farmworkers through Agri SAu2019s provincial and commodity affiliates towards disaster aid in the agricultural sector.nnMore risks (other than drought) emerged throughout the years, which threatened the sustainability of the agricultural value chain. This led to the establishment of Agri SAu2019s Disaster Relief Foundation (DRF) in 2021. The Agri SA DRF is registered with SARS to provide donors with section 18A tax certificates.nnThe aim of the DRF is to provide disaster relief to South Africau2019s agricultural sector, especially pursuant to natural disasters such as droughts, storms, floods, fires, and diseases or infections to the detriment of farmers and farmworkers, animals of all kinds, related agricultural commodities and the environment. Due to bureaucratic red tape and insufficient budgeting by the government, the private sector started to contribute towards disaster aid for the benefit of the agricultural sector in conserving food security. nnConsidering the backdrop against which Agri SA mandated the creation of the DRF, two broad areas can be identified for the utilisation of DRF funds. These are inter alia:n* Aid to farmers and farmworkers and those immediate communities affected by the long-lasting effects of the drought and natural disasters such as fires, floods and pests and diseases in the agricultural sector; and n* Food aid under the management of the Surplus Food Aid campaign, which is distributed to farmers, farmworkers and those needy communities that suffer from food insecurities.”,”position”:0,”id”:”Fq910PjNbHZ6wq1F”}]